Simple Joys
by MistyPaws
Summary: Just some cuteness involving Ichigo and Rukia. Now a series of one-shots. THE COLLECTION STANDS COMPLETE AS IS. These are stand alone stories, there is no intention of continuation. If anything else appears, it is an individual story, and does not change the complete status.
1. Simple Joys

Simple Joys

Rukia and Ichigo were walking through town, simply seeing what was around. They had already made a few stops whenever Rukia found a shop with something interesting, and were now slowly working their way home. Rukia suddenly came to a dead stop, and Ichigo turned to find out what she had seen this time. When he saw what she was looking at, he gave a mental sigh, before preparing himself.

"Ichigo! Look at the bunnies!" Rukia said excitedly. They had walked right past a pet store and there were in fact bunnies in the window. Super fluffy baby bunnies.

"I see them." Ichigo knew exactly where this was going to go. He followed her as she stepped into the shop. A quick talk with one of the employees and Ichigo knew he had no chance of stopping her as Rukia was handed one of the fluffy creatures.

"It's so cute! I want one!"

"We can't-" Ichigo's protest was cut off as Rukia gave him one of her _'but I really want it and will cry if I can't have it'_ looks.

"Okay. Maybe just one rabbit." He said.

-line-break-

Ichigo and Rukia stood in their backyard, looking at the large rabbit pen they had bought. In Ichigo's opinion, it seemed a bit over the top, but it was necessary for the new addition to their family. They brought the pet crate over to the rabbit run and opened the box. A bunny cautiously hopped out, exploring it's new home, soon followed by a second one. Rukia and Ichigo were now the proud owners of two bunnies. Once Rukia had found out the bunny she had chosen at the pet store had a sibling, she couldn't just separate them. So they had taken them both home. Even after Ichigo had lectured Rukia about how much responsibility it would take, she had happily accepted how much work it would be. At that point there was no other reason why she couldn't have them, they had experience with pets after all, and she had adopted the sibling bunnies, a snow white one, and a pure black one.

"They sure are cute. Thank you, Ichigo." Rukia said gratefully. She had sat down in the middle of the bunnies, and they were wandering around her. A huge smile appeared on her face as the black one hopped into her lap and burrowed under her hand. Ichigo gave a small smile too as he joined her and the white one slowly came over. He gently scooped it up and placed it in his lap, amazed at how soft it was. It wasn't long before the bunnies had fallen asleep from the warmth they provided, so the couple simply sat there, enjoying the nice day and the bunnies sleeping in their laps.

"You're welcome, Rukia"


	2. Strawberries and Chappy

Strawberries and Chappy

 **So this was supposed to only be a one-shot, but I think this is now going to be a collection of Ichiruki one-shots. Story will keep the complete status, but expect random chapters to pop up every now and then.**

-line-break-

Rukia was walking the streets of Karakura, a specific destination in mind. Passing under a few more streetlights on the dark sidewalk, she made it to her destination. Ignoring the fact that it was late and he would likely be sleeping, she wanted to visit Ichigo since it had been a while since they'd seen each other. Being a Shinigami, it was easy to jump up to his window to go in there like she usually did. She tapped on the window, and getting no response, pulled it open and let herself in. On the other side of the curtain, Ichigo's room was dark, but he wasn't sleeping. In fact, he wasn't in there at all.

Being quiet so as not to wake anyone, Rukia left Ichigo's room and went down the stairs, continuing her search. She found him in the family room on the couch, a small lamp nearby the only light on in the house. It looked like he had fallen asleep while reading. He was sitting with his back against the armrest, his feet up on the couch, and a book fallen next to him on the floor.

Well, she very well couldn't talk to him when he was sleeping. Getting an idea, she no longer cared if the rest of the family woke up from what she was going to do. Creeping closer, she got to be only a few feet away from him, then jumped up and threw herself in his lap, her arms wrapped around him in a tight hug to prevent the 'hit the person who woke me up' response. He woke with a start and a shout, struggling against the grip she had on him.

"Shh… you'll wake everyone up." Rukia quietly scolded him, but her tone was playful.

"Rukia? What are you doing here?" Ichigo asked once he regained his wits.

"Isn't it obvious? I haven't been able to visit for a while, and I missed my Substitute Strawberry." She let go of him, but remained sitting in his lap.

They studied each other for a moment, then Ichigo gave her a small smile and ruffled her hair. "Yeah, I missed you too. There hasn't been enough excitement around here without you."

She tried to brush his hand away, but he simply reached up and ruffled her hair with his other hand. Again, she tried to brush it away, but he was stubborn, and they ended up with Rukia holding his wrists, using her supernatural strength to try and overpower his human strength. They were still wrestling with each other when Karin and Yuzu came downstairs, and came into the family room just in time to see Ichigo fall off the couch.

"Ichi-nii? Is everything okay?" Yuzu asked. Karin took one look at the Shinigami that Yuzu couldn't see sitting on her brother's back, pinning him down, and smirked.

"He's fine, Yuzu. Let's go back to bed before goat-chin gets up." Karin told her.

"Karin, help me out here, will ya?" Ichigo asked.

"Hmm… Nope. You can take care of this yourself Ichi." Karin replied.

"Karin? What's going on?" Yuzu pressed.

"Come on Yuzu, I'll tell you back in our room." Karin took Yuzu by the arm and guided her out of the room, right before Isshin came in.

"Welcome home, my third daughter! What has Ichigo done to you, that you needed to punish him?!" Ichigo and Rukia both flushed red, before glancing at each other and both standing up. In one motion, both of them hit Isshin, Ichigo punching his face and Rukia kicking him in the chest. They withdrew, leaving a comically stunned Isshin to fall flat on the floor only seconds later.

"No hesitation to kick me down, you are truly my daughter!" Isshin cried from the floor.

"Shut up before I hit you again." Ichigo glared down at him, then picked Rukia around her waist and walked out of the room, passing Yuzu and Karin right on the other side of the threshold.

"Nothing happened. Go back to bed, and help goat-chin back to his room if you feel like it. Otherwise, just leave him there." Ichigo instructed shortly. They went back in the family room and Ichigo took Rukia up to his room. Closing his door, he turned the desk lamp on, carried Rukia over to his bed, dropped her on it, and sat next to her.

"So what made you decide to come in the middle of the night?" Ichigo asked.

"I just got to Karakura, where else was I going to stay? Plus, as I already told you, I missed my Strawberry." Rukia retorted.

"You know, I had something to give you the next I saw you, but I don't know if I want to give it to someone that keeps calling me a fruit." Ichigo teased.

"Something to give me? What is it?"

"No, you called me Strawberry. I don't think I want to tell you." Ichigo was struggling to keep the amusement out of his voice.

"Tell me!" Rukia looked about ready to burst from curiosity, so Ichigo gave in. He leaned over and pulled a small box out of his desk drawer.

"Here. It's yours." He handed it to her and watched her eyes get wide when she opened it.

"You, of all people, bought something with Chappy on it? For me?" Ichigo loved the sound of surprise in her voice.

"Yeah. Chappy's your favorite after all, right?" He took the object out of the box and reached out to touch her hair again. This time she didn't stop him, and let him do what he wanted. It only took a few seconds for him to let go, and she glanced over at the little mirror sitting on his shelf. The large chunk of hair that usually hung in her face, getting in her eyes and being generally annoying, was now clipped up out of the way with a Chappy the Rabbit hair clip.

"I know you like cute things, but I thought it would be better if it was useful as well as cute. Do you like it?" Ichigo asked.

She leaned over and gave him a hug, overjoyed to have gotten a gift from her favorite Strawberry. "It's wonderful. Thank you, Ichigo."

He returned the embrace, gently pulling her into his lap. "Anything for you, Rukia." They stayed like that for a while, eventually falling asleep together on his bed. The next morning, Rukia fixed her hair in front of the little mirror on the shelf, making sure the Chappy clip was securely in place, before leaving with Ichigo to go on patrol. Some things never changed it seemed, the two of them going on patrol together, but then she thought about the Chappy clip again. Maybe things did change between them, a sort of change that kept bringing them closer than they had ever been before.

Refocusing her thoughts, she sped up to catch up to Ichigo, who had gotten a little further ahead of her. Seeing Rukia catching up to him, he pulled ahead again, taking the lead. This process continued to repeat until they were racing each other across the sky, pushing each other to their limits in a game of chase. They eventually crashed into each other, laughing from the enjoyment of the chase. Holding on to each other, they drifted down to the ground using their reiatsu, and ended up in a beautiful clearing in a forest.

Were things really changing? Well now, they would just have to wait and see, wouldn't they?


	3. Kitty Issues

Kitty Issues

"I told you I didn't need your help, I had it under control!" Rukia threw herself down on Ichigo's desk chair, turning to argue with the other occupant of the room.

"And I'm sure you saw that Hollow coming up behind you too. There was no way you could have dodged an attack from so close! You were to busy dealing with the one in front of you!" Ichigo was pacing back and forth in his room, too wound up to sit down. Neither of them had bothered to retrieve their respective body and gigai, too caught up in their heated discussion.

"You were supposed to be tracking down the rest of them, not worrying about me!"

"Like I could have focused on all that when you were clearly outnumbered!"

"Outnumbered or not, I was doing just fine. I'm not one of those weak fools."

Ichigo sputtered to reply, trying to quickly backtrack. "That's not what I meant, and you know it!"

"Hmph." Rukia simply opted to ignore him, turning her back to him and digging through a drawer of his desk.

"Rukia?" It was never a good thing for him when she got quiet. It almost always meant she was plotting something.

"Hmm?" The reply was light and uncaring, yet another red flag.

"Hey, you know I-" He was cut off by Rukia turning back to him, holding an object he hadn't seen for quite some time.

"You were saying?" Though her expression was neutral, he could practically hear the smirk in her voice.

"... what are you doing with that?" Rukia was pulling on her red glove, the skull looking much more intimidating than he remembered it.

"Oh, so you remember this, do you? And I suppose you remember what it does as well?" Rukia stood, prompting Ichigo to back away slightly. However, she made no move to hit him. Instead, she opened the closet and pulled out one of the many stuffed animals she had accumulated. It was a fluffy orange and white tabby cat, and was currently one of her favorites(second only to Chappy, of course).

"Yeah, whatever you hit has the Soul removed, right?. So what are you doing with it?" Rukia gave him a frighteningly sweet smile that could rival Unohana, and kept approaching until she had backed him into a wall.

"This." Inside one swift movement, she grabbed him with her gloved hand and brought the stuffed animal up with the other. Within seconds, Ichigo found himself no longer in spirit form; instead, his soul was now stuck inside the plushie.

"Wha!? What the heck Rukia!" The now feline Ichigo shouted.

"Just like Kon is able to survive in an inanimate object, other spiritual beings can do the same. In human terms, you have just possessed that stuffed cat, and will remain like that until you leave it." Rukia was no longer bothering to hide her smile, thoroughly enjoying Ichigo's current predicament.

Ichigo shakily stood on his new four limbs, the shape of the plushie not allowing him to stand like a human, and did his best to glare up at her. She simply grinned back down at him, waiting to see what he would do. He wobbled over to his bed and clumsily made his way on top, searching for his Substitute badge. Rukia was ahead of him though, and picked it up before he could reach it, rendering it out of his reach. Ichigo sat down, his ears flattened, and irritation clear on his face.

"Hey! No fair, give that back!" He yowled. This was followed by an attempt to look pitiful, hoping she would take pity on him. She did, but not in the way he had wanted. Before he could react, she had plopped down on the bed and scooped him up, holding him in her arms.

"Oh, you're so adorable! I just can't take you serious like that!" Rukia was way too happy about this, and Ichigo wanted no part of it as she squeezed him.

"No! No! No no no!" He tried to escape, but his soft paws couldn't get enough of a grip on anything to help him get free. After a while he wore himself out, and resigned himself to being held captive as she started stroking his fur. As much as he wanted to deny it, the sensation was strangely soothing. He relaxed and settled down in her lap, getting as comfortable as he could in the unfamiliar body. They sat together in silence for a while, and Ichigo was soon struggling to stay awake.

Ichigo was roused from his nap when Rukia once again picked him up and held him out in front of her. Any trace of her former irritation or mocking was gone, replaced by content amusement.

"I suppose I should let you out now, shouldn't I?" She asked contemplatively. Ichigo knew better than to answer, and instead waited for her to make her decision. After another moment of debate, she set him on the bed next to his badge. He glanced up at her to make sure she was serious, then pressed a paw to the piece of wood. His soul was shoved out of the toy, and he stumbled from the sudden change of balance. Rukia came up behind him and clung onto his back, making him fall forward with a startled shout. Ichigo ended up facedown on the bed with Rukia sitting on his back, arms wrapped around his neck.

"Stupid Strawberry. You know I can't stay mad at you for long." Rukia's voice was muffled in his hair as she refused to let go, trying to cuddle closer to him. Ichigo rested his chin on his crossed arms, not bothering to make Rukia get off.

"Yeah, I'm lucky to have found such a sweet little midget to love me-" Ichigo started sarcastically, before Rukia briefly tightened her hold, cutting him off.

"Just shut up and let me cuddle with you."


	4. Butterfly

Butterfly

(Based off a pic of Ichigo, Cat Rukia, and a Butterfly, hopefully the cover art for this story now.)

 _ **A/N: Couldn't really figure out how to write an actual chapter with this, as the draft was written as a script by my friend and I. So here ya go, a cleaned up version of the script!**_

Rukia (Sitting on Ichigo's head): Look! A butterfly!

Ichigo: I see that.

Rukia (Staring intently at the butterfly)

Ichigo: Don't chase it.

Rukia (Stretching and frantically swatting, trying to reach it): But I wanna catch it!

Ichigo (Trying to hold her back): No!

Rukia: Butterfly!

Ichigo: NO!

Rukia (Leans too far and falls off his head): Help!

Ichigo (Catches Rukia by the scruff and brings her to eye level): That's why I told you no.

Rukia (Pitiful look and watering eyes): But… it was a Butterfly…

(Butterfly flies between them and lands on Ichigo's nose)

Rukia: Butterfly!

Ichigo: Noo…

(Intense staring. Butterfly flaps wings)

Rukia (Pounces butterfly)

Ichigo: Ahh!


	5. Bubblegum

Bubblegum

Ichigo leaned back in the old wooden chair, ignoring the way it creaked in protest. Rukia glanced over at him, the noise distracting her from her work. Returning her attention to the task at hand, she was distracted once again by a sharp 'pop'. She snapped her head towards Ichigo, the direction the sound had come from.

"What was that?" Rukia asked.

"Hmm?" He replied carelessly.

"That popping sound. What was it?"

"Ah, that." He fell silent, chewing on something. Moments later, he blew a large pink bubble from his mouth. It burst, making the same 'pop' she had heard a minute ago. The bubble deflated, and he sucked it back into his mouth.

"It's gum. It's like candy, but you don't actually eat it. You chew on it for the flavor, and some types you can blow bubbles with. Here." He pulled a small bag out of his pocket and handed her a pink gumball. "You try it. Chew it until it's soft and rubbery, then try and blow through it."

She took the gum, chewing on it for a few minutes in silence. When she thought it was good enough, she tried blowing a bubble. It popped before the bubble could even form.

"You do it again." She urged.

"Again? Alright." He agreed.

"I want to see how big you can make the bubble." Ichigo took another moment, then began blowing his bubble. When it grew large enough to almost hide his face, Rukia took the tip of her pen and poked it. It burst instantly, sticking to his face and getting caught in his hair.

"RUKIA!" She took off before he could give chase, laughing the whole time.


	6. Night Light

Night Light

 ** _This one is a bit more serious than other chapters, but I hope you still enjoy._**

-N-L-

It was the first time in almost two years that she had slept in his closet. It was also the night she found something had changed with Ichigo since their last meeting. She didn't know that he slept with his desk lamp on; he always used to make sure all the lights were off when they went to bed.

So when she turns the light off and Ichigo freaks out, she knows somethings wrong. In the end she agrees to leave the desk light on, even though it's too bright to get decent sleep with. This happens the next day too. And the next. Ichigo doesn't get much sleep with or without the light. Rukia hates seeing him like this and decides to do something about it. The next morning she runs out to the store by herself. She gives it to him that night as they're getting ready for bed.

"What's this?" He asks, looking at the small box she just gave him.

"Why don't you open it and see?" She replies. He does, and is at a loss for words for several seconds.

"A night light? Rukia, these are for children."

"It doesn't matter. That one is for you. I can't stand seeing you up all night because its too bright with the lamp, or too dark with no lights at all." She pulls it from his hand and plugs it in across the room.

"Now, bedtime." Rukia shoos him to bed then turns the main light off. The night light isn't very bright, just enough to break up the pitch blackness. She goes to her closet and closes the door, leaving it cracked so she can see Ichigo without him knowing. He falls asleep much sooner that night, and appears to finally be getting much needed rest. Over the next few nights she discovers he always falls asleep facing the light, and it never seems to bother him.

She wondered if he had always been so afraid of the dark.

When he had gained spiritual powers, he had already known about the spirit realm to some extent and had adjusted fairly quickly to his new responsibilities. But what had come after was nothing that any person should have been burdened with. He had invaded other worlds to save his nakama, been through a war, nearly died several times through his ventures. Now he had the responsibilities of two lives to deal with. No one ever thought about how much psychological damage could have been done through all of this.

Though she knew he would never give up his power again, she had visited during those seventeen long months. He did perfectly fine in his day to day life, but there was no denying how miserable she had seen him at times. Even now, he was definitely happier than he had been, but something dark still clung to him.

"Ichigo," She whispered. "I'm so sorry. How could we ever have let this happen to you?"


	7. Gift

Gift

 _ **A bit late for the Holidays, I know, but here it is anyways :)**_

-G-

"ICHIGO!" Said person quickly ducked out of the way as his overly excited father burst into his room with a shout. Isshin crashed to the floor, Ichigo having grabbed him and thrown him down.

"What is it now?" He asked. "And why are you in your Shinigami form?"

"The holidays have come, and I've yet to give my dear third daughter a gift! Fortunately, I have just the thing!"

"Oh? And what would that be?" At this, Isshin suddenly sprung back up and pulled out a large roll of thick red ribbon.

"Wonderful, so you agree!"

"What? You haven't even told me what it is yet!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"Bakudo #1: Sai!" Caught off guard by the kido, Isshin easily captured his son. Freeing his soul from his body, Isshin quickly tied him in the red ribbon before Ichigo could break the kido.

"What are you doing? Let go of me!" Ichigo protested.

"Sorry, no can do!" Isshin replied. He opened a senkaimon and picked Ichigo up, taking him away to Soul Society.

-S-J-

"No! Don't leave me here!" Isshin had dropped Ichigo off at Rukia's room at the Kuchiki estate. Neither of the Kuchiki's were home at the moment, but the work day was almost over and they would be back any minute now. Ichigo didn't want to know what would happen if Byakuya found him first.

"You're on your own now. You better be good to my dear daughter!" Ichigo cursed as he felt the first traces of reiatsu nearing the estate, and Isshin vanished in a flash. He suppressed his signature as much as he could while sitting up to fight with his restraints. One of the approaching signatures momentarily froze, before taking off in a rush of shunpo. Byakuya appeared moments later, slamming the door open, sword drawn.

"Wait!" Byakuya paused at the sight of Ichigo bound before him, before lowering his sword and demanding an explanation.

"Kurosaki. What on earth happened to you and why are you here?" Right then Rukia appeared next to her brother ready to stop him, clearly having realized why he had suddenly taken off. She too paused at the sight of Ichigo, unsure of what she had just walked in on. Breaking the awkward silence, Ichigo answered Byakuya's question.

"My dad attacked me and tied me up, then brought me here and dumped me. I didn't choose to come here like this." He defended himself. "If you could untie me, I'll just be leaving."

Rukia stepped forward to do just that, but found a note dangling from one of the knots. Deciding Ichigo could wait a moment longer, she tore the paper off and opened it. Reading it quickly, Rukia's face went red and Byakuya plucked it from her hand to see what it was. He too, went red, but from an entirely different emotion. Drawing his sword once more he simply cut the knots off the ribbon holding Ichigo. Ichigo was confused as to why Byakuya had just helped him, when he was clearly angry.

"You are going to help me track down your father so that I can kill him." He demanded.

"I'll help." Rukia chimed in.

"Uh, just what did that thing say?" Ichigo asked. Byakuya silently passed him the paper.

"Yeah, he's dead. Let's go."


	8. Umbrella

Umbrella

-U-

"Geez, it's sure raining hard, isn't it?" Ichigo commented, stepping under an overhang and lowering his umbrella.

"Hn." Rukia moved to stand next to him, lowering her umbrella as well, but provided no further comment.

"Aw come on, it wasn't that bad. It was just a bit of water, you'll dry off." Ichigo said.

"Water that splashed off of _your_ umbrella." She shot back.

"You know I didn't do it on purpose. But still-" He was stopped by Rukia stepping away and pointing the tip of her umbrella at him.

"Rukia? What-" She pushed the button to snap it open, and Ichigo was suddenly showered with the water that had collected on the thin material.

"What the heck Rukia!" He complained.

"It's only water you'll dry off."

"Hey!"


	9. For Me

For me

 _ **Forgive me for this, but this is another one that doesn't fit the light and happy category. You have been warned.**_

-S-J-

They took the late night train, desperate to leave, get away from the ones hunting them down, to be safe. Now she gazes out the window in a daze, watching nothing.

It's raining. It shines through the glass, and he can't be sure, but he thinks he sees tears reflecting among the drops of water.

"Hey." It's spoken softly, gently. Painfully. She hasn't acknowledged his presence for quite some time now.

"Hey, look at me." Now he is pleading with her, and he wonders if she even hears him. Only when she reaches over to squeeze his hand does she reply.

"How could any of this be worth it? For you? For me?" Despite the slight falter at the end the words are spoken rather plainly, trying to suppress any emotion from entering.

"I couldn't let them take you back. You can't go back, and neither can I. They know where we were and would have tracked us down. This way they can't find us. We can start over, just the two of us."

"They'll find us eventually. We're running on borrowed time." Her voice falters again, wavering as she tries to speak.

"Why?" She finally asks. "Why did you throw away your life for me?" And now she really is crying, unable to stop the confusion and pain from taking over.

"Not me. Don't- you can't-shouldn't have done anything for me! Now look where we are! I've taken everything away from you, why do you do anything for me?!" She screams. Suddenly he pulls her close, cradling her protectively against his chest. He lets her cry on him and she does, burying her face and finally letting go. He cries too as he holds her, silent tears falling while they provide comfort to each other.

"When we first met, I never imagined we would ever be anything other than partners while I helped with your job. Now, I can't imagine what I would do without you. This isn't about either one of us, it's about both."

"But your family…"

"They aren't in danger. You were. The same ones that chased us away are still there protecting everyone. I can always go back and see them, but you… If they got you, I'd never see you again. And I couldn't live with myself if I let that happen." He gently pushed her away so he could look her in the eyes.

"Why would I ever give you up? You mean so much to me."

"But-"

"It'll be okay. I promise. Even if things get hard or dangerous, we still have each other." The words rang hollow, struggling to hold a grain of truth. He couldn't know, but he chose to believe. He had to. Or they would both fall apart.

"We will make it through this." He pulled her close once more, tears stopped but eyes still shining.

"Promise?" Her voice was muffled in his chest.

"I promise."

 _And around them the world shattered._


End file.
